Every student should receive a high-quality education in a safe environment that prepares them for their future. This fundamental promise of our democracy is under attack in Texas.
When education reflects and affirms all students, it prepares them to thrive. Yet, Texas public schools have become increasingly unwelcoming, even hostile, to Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and religious minority students. Young people deserve better than censorship, discrimination, and bullying from state politicians and special interest groups. Our state is diverse and our schools should reflect this diversity.
The following resources are designed to help K-12 students, parents, educators, and advocates create inclusive schools where students are safe, supported, and treated with dignity.
JUMP TO A SECTION:
Know Your Rights | Book Bans | Religious FreedomDress Codes | LGBTQIA+ ISSUES | Take Action
Know Your Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. No matter their race, gender, or background, every Texas student is promised the opportunity to learn in an environment where they feel valued and can think for themselves.
LEARN
- Know the rights that students have at school.
- Learn about political and free speech rights in an educational setting.
- Listen to a podcast episode about free speech in the classroom.
- Explore strategies to tackle systemic issues in Texas schools (IDRA).
ACT
- Report students’ rights violations through our intake form.
Book Bans
From the state legislature to the school board, Texas officials are banning books that students rely on to learn about themselves and the world around them. Instead of trying to shield students from reality, we should prepare them for their futures.
LEARN
Understand Senate Bill 3, Texas’ classroom censorship law (IDRA).
- Get our fact sheet on Texas' book ban law, House Bill 900.
- Explore books being challenged or banned in Texas schools (Dallas Observer).
- Listen to a podcast episode about efforts to ban books in Texas schools.
- Access past reports of banned books in Texas since 2001.
- Read letters urging Granbury, Katy, Klein, and North East ISDs to return banned books.
- Follow the rapid evolution of classroom censorship laws nationwide.
ACT
- Use this toolkit to combat classroom censorship efforts.
- Join other advocates challenging book bans with the Texas Freedom to Read Project.
- Take action against book bans with this toolkit (United Against Book Bans).
- Report book bans and censorship with Teach the Truth and the American Library Association.
Religious Freedom
Texas politicians are trying to force state-sponsored religion into our public schools through unlicensed chaplains, religious curricula, public displays of religious texts, and more. Enjoying the freedom to decide whether and how to be religious is a core part of what makes us Texan.
LEARN
- Get our fact sheet on Senate Bill 763, which allows unlicensed religious chaplains to work in public schools.
Access our letter calling on school boards to reject unlicensed religious chaplains in Texas public schools.
- Access this video from a former chaplain about the dangers of religious coercion.
- Learn more about Senate Bill 1515, which would have required schools to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
ACT
- Share this video about the motivations for putting chaplains in schools.
- Use this toolkit to stop unlicensed religious chaplains from providing counseling and other services to students in your district.
Dress Codes
Many Texas public schools have dress code policies that shame and penalize students for simply showing up in the classroom as their authentic selves. No student should ever be punished for being who they are.
LEARN
- Access our report which found that more than half of Texas public schools have discriminatory dress code policies.
- Access our letter urging Texas public school districts to end race-based hair discrimination by complying with the CROWN Act.
- Discover the story of how Texas students fought gender-based discrimination in court.
ACT
- Share this video about the importance of the CROWN Act.
- Tell us about your experience with Texas public school dress codes.
- Use these talking points when advocating against discriminatory dress codes.
- Send an advocacy letter to your school district.
***
LGBTQIA+ Issues
State and school officials are threatening LGBTQIA+ students’ education and safety by banning the bathrooms they can use, the health care they can get, the sports they can play, and more. Texas classrooms should be a place where students of all races, genders, and sexualities are respected for who they are.
LEARN
- Understand the rights that LGBTQIA+ and all students have in Texas (TX Trans Kids).
- Unpack the lies fueling attacks on transgender youth.
- Access a resource used by Katy ISD students for schools implementing anti-trans "gender policies."
- Get our fact sheet on House Bill 25, which bans transgender students from participating on K-12 athletic teams as their authentic selves.
Get our factsheet on Senate Bill 14, which bans medical care for transgender youth in Texas.
ACT
- Learn how to start a GSA at your school.
- Defend your rights at school using this toolkit for LGBTQIA+ students (TX Trans Kids).
- Advocate with transgender youth for welcoming schools in Texas (TX Trans Kids).
***
Take Action
Students
- Take action if you’re being bullied, cyberbullied, or harassed.
- Learn how to speak at a school board meeting and more (FReadom Fighters).
- Follow step-by-step guidelines on how to file a school grievance or complaint with the government.
- Report other instances of discrimination through our intake form.
Educators
- Find teaching tools and get email alerts about working for equity (IDRA).
- Follow step-by-step guidelines on how to file a school grievance or complaint with the government.
- Join the movement to #TeachTheTruth (Texas Freedom Network).
- Help welcome immigrant students at school (IDRA).
- Fill out this survey for educators on the impact of school censorship (IDRA).
Parents, Guardians, and Advocates
- Consult this messaging on how to speak about equity in schools (We Make The Future).
- Follow step-by-step guidelines on how to file a school grievance or complaint with the government.
- Learn how to speak at a school board meeting and more (FReadom Fighters).
- Report other instances of discrimination through our intake form.
Witness what Texas students have to share about the books that inspire them, their experiences at school, and their visions for the future:
Madison (she/her) — 12th Grade
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.
| Sydney (she/her) — 11th grade
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.
|
Keikoá (he/him) — 6th Grade
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.
| Cam (they/them) — College
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.
|
Zeil (they/them) — 9th Grade
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.
| Arshia (he/him) — 12th Grade
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.
|
Each one of us has a role to play in ensuring that Texas students get a quality education in an inclusive environment — free from unconstitutional government overreach.
The ACLU of Texas has a long history of advocating with and for K-12 students, including our efforts to end the School to Prison Pipeline. We are grateful to work with our partners and coalitions like Teach the Truth, SEAT, Texas Freedom to Read Project, Texans for the Right to Read, and the All in For Equality Coalition.